PHILADELPHIA — Ryan Howard’s knee was arthroscopically repaired Wednesday, and although general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said team surgeon Dr. Michael Ciccotti considered the damage to his meniscus to be less problematic than first believed when an MRI result came through, the timeframe for a return remains 6 to 8 weeks.

“(Ciccotti) debrided his medial meniscus and it went really well,” Amaro said. “The arthritic things that we had seen in the MRI were better when they looked in the scope, so that’s a good sign.

“He’ll start his rehab program with head athletic trainer) Scott (Sheridan) tomorrow and get it going.”

That would mean Howard could be back in September, although that would create an interesting dilemma for the team. If the Phils are in contention at that time, it would seem to indicate that the team found someone to be suitable replacement in the batting order for Howard – Darin Ruf is getting that chance at the moment. If the Phillies aren’t in contention in the final month, then one has to wonder if bringing Howard back when the team is riding out the string is wise, or if he should save whatever’s left in his decimated left leg for 2014.

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According to a team source, the meniscus suffered a more extensive tear a few days before he was placed on the disabled list. When the team first did a check of Howard’s knee when it began giving him problems in early May, the cause of the discomfort didn’t match up fully with the pain he showed in flexibility tests.

This time, there was no question the meniscus needed mending.

“After Ciccotti went in with the scope, it was a little better picture then we thought,” Amaro said. “I think the player is feeling better about it, we’re feeling better about it. As news goes, this is as good as we can get.

“There’s a reasonable chance we’ll have him back at some point. We’ll see. We still have a lot of question marks about where we’re going to go in the next couple of weeks. Right now, the team is making decisions a little harder on me, which is fine and good. I’d rather be in this situation than thinking about 2014 right now.”

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Luis Garcia had given up his dream of playing major-league baseball.

In 2011, the right-hander became a free agent, and because of what seems to be both a miscommunication with his agent and a 2010 performance that lacked a lot of progress during his first full season in the Nationals’ organization, he didn’t find another team to give him a chance.

So he landed in a warehouse in Dover, N.J., moving furniture.

“I have a friend who was working in a warehouse and he said, ‘Hey, if you want to start working here, you can work here.’ So I started working there,” Garcia said. “I was playing catch with a net, because I didn’t have anyone to have a catch with.”

Two years later, the right-hander is in the Phillies’ bullpen, with a catcher and everything.

It is one of the more astounding and mercurial turnarounds to a baseball career you’ll ever see.

Garcia tried to stay in condition for a while in 2011, but soon figured that part of his life was over. However, Luis Ferreras, a fellow Dominican who like him came up in the Dodgers’ organization and also had his pitching career end after the 2010 season, didn’t let him put the glove and ball away for good.

“I wasn’t trying to play baseball anymore,” Garcia said. “But (Ferreras) was the one who said, ‘Man, you have a good arm, why did you stop?’ He’d come to my house all the time and say, ‘Come on, let’s go have a catch.’ That’s when I started (thinking about a comeback).”

The comeback started with a hasty decision to try out for the Newark Bears in the independent Can-Am League. Because Garcia throws in the 90-plus mph range just rolling out of bed, that was enough to earn him a shot.

However, it was June when the tryout took place. The rest of baseball had been preparing since February and March to play and was a couple months into the season. Garcia was way, way behind.

“Before I went to Newark I was working, trying to make some money,” he said. “I wasn’t even practicing at all … So that didn’t work. I didn’t do a good job there.”

Last winter, Garcia made sure he was better prepared, tuning up starting in the late fall, then attending a tryout in New York. A couple of scouts suggested he go to indy ball, but Phillies director of international scouting Sal Agostinelli gave him a chance to throw for the Phillies’ player-personnel people in Clearwater, Fla., and in late March gave him a contract.

He started with Class A Clearwater, hopped up to Double-A Reading. Then, when he was moved to Triple-A Lehigh Valley late last month, he started to wonder.

“I pitched back-to-back days (in Reading) and they said, ‘You’re going to Triple-A,’” said Garcia, who was hitting 98 mph with his gas in the minors. “I said, ‘What, really?’ Then I thought I would stay in Triple-A for the rest of the year.

“Two days ago they said, ‘You’re going to the big leagues.’ It all happened too fast. It was amazing.”

Garcia decided to wait until after Tuesday’s Phillies win to call his parents and let them know.

“…and they already knew, he said. “They found out at 6 p.m. Someone told them. I called and they said, ‘Yeah, we already know.’”

They believed it, even though their son could hardly believe it himself.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” Garcia said. “If I stopped at that time, it wasn’t my time to play baseball. But I am very happy that the Phillies gave me an opportunity, because no one was there. I was asking everyone in baseball if they would give me the chance, and they said no.”

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NOTES: Erik Kratz (15-day disabled list) had a little stiffness in his knee after a couple of rehab games in the minors, so the catcher probably will stay with Lehigh Valley through the All-Star break before the Phils think about activating him … According to Amaro, left-hander Jeremy Horst (15-day D.L., elbow) will pitch in back-to-back games as part of his rehab assignment, but the team wants him to stretch out to multiple-inning use before it considers activating him in the majors … Michael Stutes (15-days D.L., biceps) remains a couple of weeks away from throwing off the mound … Roy Halladay (60-day D.L., shoulder) is still at the 90-foot mark of his throwing program. He has to get up to 150 feet comfortably before he begins to throw off the mound. Asked if the right-hander was on schedule, Amaro said he wouldn’t speculate about a possible return date.